William Harrington was born in Marietta, Ohio. He
studied at Marietta College, at Duke University, and at Ohio State
University. He had a private practice as a lawyer from 1958 to 1962
and from 1971 to 1978. In 1980, he became a full-time writer. In the
90īs, he wrote a series of novels featuring Lieutenant Columbo from
the LAPD.